Informative Essay on Gun Control

For many years, gun control has always been a heated topic, especially in the U.S. After all, there have been many massive shootings that can result in this debate. Especially, during the last 3-5 years. There has been a shooting in a school, workplaces, churches, etc. every time we turn around. Should we get rid of guns altogether? Or should we just make gun laws stricter? There are many questions we all have, and many opinions we have about this certain topic. In reality, we just want to live in a world that is safe, with no tragedies, and live in happiness. Yet, even though we would all love that, it is impossible. If we got rid of guns altogether, it would fight against the 2nd amendment in the U.S constitution. Which is, the right to bear arms. However, if we don’t act on this issue, there will continue to be more massive shootings, and just not across the United States. Though this is why Gun Control should not be legalized because it would become the worst crime rate, it can be an advantage for the country, and why the gun control movement fails altogether because it is seen as crime control instead of gun control.

Gun Control is the laws that forbid gun ownership and the manufacture of guns to be sold. Is the answer to massive shootings legalizing this law so no shootings or crimes happen? According to John R. Lott, Jr., Ph.D. said, 'States with the largest increases in gun ownership also have the largest drops in violent crimes. The effect of 'shall-issue' gun laws on these crimes has been dramatic. When states passed these laws, the number of multiple-victim shootings declined by 84 percent. Deaths from these shootings plummeted on average by 90 percent and injuries by 82 percent.' (Lott) Why do we instantly think if someone ones a gun, they’re going to cause a crime? A journalist John Stossel says that criminals that want to commit a crime will commit them. For example, if guns were to be outlawed, the outlaws would find ways to get ahold of a gun (Stossel).

The legalization of Gun Control would just become worse in crime rates, and more shootings across the United States. According to an article on CNN by L.Z Granderson called “Gun Control is not the answer.” The author talks about how in Chicago that gun shops are illegal. Yet, in the city, they are affected by gunshot wounds, or even death in the streets each week. It also talks about how more people have died from gun violence here from home than during the nine years of warfighting in Iraq. The individuals that are committing mass shootings are coming from both legalized people who can carry a gun and ones who are not. So even though they are not allowed ownership of carrying a gun, they still find ways to commit that crime or even carry a gun (Granderson). According to John Stossel in an article from ABC News called, “Gun Control isn’t crime control.” He talks about instead of gun control legalization if we just invested in stricter gun laws and if that would help. He also gives the information that If a criminal is going to commit a crime, it doesn't matter if we have strict gun laws or not. They will commit a crime regardless. So, if the gun laws were stricter it gives them another reason to commit the crime and find a way to come out on top. In that statement, there could be a bit of a disagreement among others. Such as, if stricter gun laws were to be that it harder to be able to own a gun, or where background checks legal for all 50 states to purchase a gun sale instead of eleven states. In 1997, there was a shooting in the United Kingdom in England that killed around 16 children. The effect of that crime, England created stricter gun laws for the country. England’s laws for gun control since then have been one of the strictest gun laws in the world. The law is preventing almost all citizens from having the right to own a firearm. Even though this law was set, there was no decrease in gun-related crimes in the U.K. at all. The crimes have actually doubled in England since the ban was established. It is a topic that is very controversial, could it help? Or could it not? The stricter the gun laws seem to become, the more the crime rates will increase.

When people think of guns, they think of them as killing machines. Such as for humans. Liberals believe and support that human lives are valuable and that killing humans is wrong. This is also true but they also believe that guns kill humans so we should limit the access of the use of guns completely. Every time a mass shooting occurs it seems like another opportunity for Liberals to fight against gun control. According to an article by Dustin Murphy called, “4 major problems with gun control arguments.” He states, “Making guns illegal or restricting access to them won’t end gun violence” (Murphy). Much how like there are substances and drugs that are illegal yet according to studies overdose of drugs is the number one death of people across the United States. Liberals are also to be said that they are blaming the mentally ill for the causes of the massive shootings. That because an individual committed a crime, they were mentally ill. This could be true, but it seemed like that was the reply to every shooting that occurred. According to the article written by S.E Smith called, “Don’t blame the mentally ill. Blame the guns.” He talks about how President Trump said that the lack of mental hospitals was to blame for the incident that happened in the Parkland, Florida shooting. President Trump also suggested imprisoning innocent people in mental- health facilities. Then stated, “he hasn’t committed the crime, but he may very well.” According to a 2015 analysis as well of about 235 mass murders including shootings found that only 46 of those people were actually mentally ill. A lot of the reasons identified as rage, hostility, and just being disgruntled were more common to have been the cause of the shootings rather than it being a mental condition. Some evidence that was presented in the article, it says that it suggests that mentally ill people are less likely to kill people with a gun or any other type of firearm. However, overall how sane they are also counterparts, and when that happens, they usually end up killing themselves in the situation (Smith).

Gun control not being legalized cannot be a disadvantage for the country. It can be an advantage, but why? Gun control not being legalized could be another open window for more black marketing to occur. If someone wants to own a gun, they will fight every will in their power to get what they want. There are also going to always be people who steal firearms for their own needs, and if the government gets rid of guns completely, it’ll be a bigger fight to get them, even though now people are still stealing and trying to get their hands on guns if they want them. Many also argue that more people are killed by guns through homicides, but there are more deaths in the U.S. caused by guns in suicide. Approximately 7,000 of them are suicides. Instead of worrying about getting completely rid of guns, there is studies that show there needs to be more dedicated to looking into mental health organizations instead. Most people have a fear of guns just because of the fact of what they can do to other people, not so much of how they function. Such things like gangs for example use the use of guns as a way to show their territory control because they don’t feel valued enough, or they suffer from insecurities. Also, some people look at gun violence to be a heart or a mental illness as well, instead of something else or even feeling valued (Ayres). Many people think if they cause a riot, they can get more people to pay attention to them or even get noticed by the outside world. They could be in a state of rejection or even feel they are not worthy enough to live. Even trying to get back at someone when maybe they treated them wrong. In past shootings, such as the Parkland shooting in Florida the student Nickolas Cruz, was also the shooter. In the article by Matias J. Ocner explains how he was bullied in school and didn’t feel welcomed, or even noticed. Later on, that brought on his mental illness and depression to cause him to get back with revenge for treating him the way the students may have(Ocner). That doesn’t give him an excuse to kill 17 students in a high school, but when talking about this issue it gives a more prominent description of why he could be causing such a huge massacre. A big one that is he wanted to be noticed, and he wanted others to feel the pain that he was going through.

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According to an article by Gary Young called, “Why the Gun Control movement fails.” In the article, he talks about the failures that happened in the gun control movement in the U.S. Through the black American citizens and the low income. Young talks about how he’s talked to the parents of the victims of the children who were killed in a shooting back in 2013, and a police shooting in Ferguson. He then brings his audience to the point where he asked the parents an open-ended question. The question was about why they thought these tragedies kept happening. Young said that not one of their replies had anything to do with the use of guns themselves. Yet, when he asked a more leading question like what they thought of guns, almost all of them agreed and thought that guns being everywhere is a problem. They didn’t reply that getting rid of guns is the solution to all of the issues happening (Young). Judy Williams also talks a little bit about the issue as well. She explains that she doesn’t think the Second Amendment means what they think it means. That some of the issues happening don’t mean that there should be “no control.” Then she replies with, “The reality of it is, they are not going to do away with guns in this country... The fact is that they are so plentiful on the streets and people have them.... It's ludicrous to think you can take guns out of people's homes in this country... It ain't gonna happen.'(Williams). Another solution can seem to be that it is not always the gun in general but the person carrying the firearm, and not blaming the gun itself. Lastly, Gary Young mentions, “None of the family members I spoke with raised the Second Amendment one way or the other. Almost all of them believed that guns were too readily available; none believed there was anything that could be done about it. Only one mother, according to her Facebook posts, had developed any real affinity with the gun-control movement.” (Young) However, when it comes down to it, no one is affiliated with the massacre that happened with guns themselves.

An article from the Washington Post, written by Nicole Lewis, gives us an insight into how congressional leaders acted after the terrible shooting that occurred in Las Vegas in October of 2018. From hundreds being wounded to 58 people dead in this mass shooting. They decided to re-open the debate on the issue of the legislation of gun control. Some politicians come into this debate and argue to the side that the right to bear arms is protected by the Second Amendment. As they are issuing more policies, more policies are coming out to not being as effective as they may have wanted. Members of Congress are trying to come up with ways and policies that could somehow prevent shootings from happening and keep the use of guns out of the wrong hands. Scalise made a claim about strict gun control laws are not having little to no effect. Much like Chicago, which is one of the strictest gun policies in the U.S., but still deals with gun violence at least once a week. Out of ranking with the strictest gun laws in the United States, Illinois is ranked number eight. Illinois gun laws and policies, include background checks on gun sales, waiting periods between the purchase and transfer of guns, and gun licensing (Lewis). New Orleans' rates for homicides were shown to be the highest in 2016 even though their laws are set to be one of the strictest. Which in New Orleans is about 47 per 100,000 people in the state. Chicago had around 16 homicides per 100,000 people in the state. Researchers traced all new guns that were recovered or related to gun violence in Chicago. From crimes between the years 2009 and 2013. Through that, they found that 60 percent of new guns were used for gangs and that the other 32 percent were either purchased from other states or were non-gang-related crimes. There are some states that don’t have strict gun control policies, and the rates of gun death are also very high as well. According to the Law Center, Alaska ranks forty-four for their gun control policies and they have the highest rate of gun deaths in the country. Then Louisiana is ranked forty-third and again has the second-highest rate of gun deaths in the country.

On “State of the Union” on CNN on October 8th, Senator Chris Murphy said that tough gun laws don’t work and pointed at low rates of gun violence with states who have strict gun policies. According to several studies that Murphy’s spokesperson represented, they examined the changes and effects that have happened in the states that have banned assault weapons. Around the 2000s, gun violence had declined a bit, no one can really determine why that is the case. Instead, what has been banned has been semi-automatic weapons with large capacities that appear in military and criminal applications. In October 2016, Kleck gave the statement as, “gun control laws generally show no evidence of effects on crime rates, possibly because gun levels do not have a net positive effect on violence rates” (Kleck). Over the years, it has been shown that requiring a license to possess a gun rather than bans completely does help. It also has been seen to reduce the homicide rate and rate of robbery as well. Murphy made his claim of a 10-year ban on assault weapons, but it did not do much for reducing gun violence whatsoever. Some studies that say that gun control reduces gun deaths may not include deaths like suicide. There is a single study that talks and shows about the improvements in gun violence but can’t really be generalized correctly next to other states. After every mass shooting, politicians seem to have a debate over the gun control policy and how they can fix it. They talk about and focus on how to prevent another shooting from happening, and then the other argument is about how we can’t give up on the right to bear arms and the Second Amendment. Politicians can also only work with the information they have available at the time. Murphy then exaggerates and gives little evidence as to what he was supporting and on his side of the debate for gun violence. He only gives a hint of the support that he is giving on his side. This also comes back to President Barack Obama’s statement claim back in 2015. He said, “The States with the Most Gun Laws see the Fewest Gun-related deaths.” Which was also a similar claim to what Murphy said. Though, Obama’s statement was from a chart published in the National Journal (Lewis).

Many people believe that the Second Amendment isn’t an unlimited right to own guns. The Second Amendment was ratified in 1791 and since it was so long ago, people believe that it is okay to not follow it completely. According to the 2008 District of Columbia, U.S Supreme Court, Justice Antonin Scalia, LLB, stated, 'Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited... nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms”(Scalia). Another big argument that people debate about is that they think that more gun control laws would reduce gun deaths. According to Daily Beast and CNN contributor, David Frum states, “American children under age 15 were nine times more likely to die of a gun accident than children in other advanced wealthy countries... About 200 Americans go to emergency rooms every day with gunshot wounds” (Frum). The use of gun licensing laws had shown there was a 14% decrease in homicides due to gun deaths. However, there was an increase in homicides shown in places where they were allowed the right to carry and stand your ground laws. Lastly, people make another statement that guns are rarely used when fighting for self-defense. There were 29,618,300 violent crimes that had been committed between the years of 2007 and 2011. Only 0.79% of victims which are about 235,700 protected themselves with the use of a firearm. Then in 2010, there were only said to be 230 justified homicides where a citizen used a gun to kill a felon. Rather than comparing it to 8,275 criminal homicides that year. The only property crimes that were committed in the year 2007 and the year 2011, there was only about 0.12% of victims, or 103,000 that had protected themselves with the use of a firearm in the use of their own home.

In Conclusion, gun control has always been a heated topic in our society. Whether it's if we should get rid of guns completely, make stricter gun laws, or leave the laws as they are. Many people always have an opinion on what is best. Everyone just wants what is best and to live in a world where we can be protected and secure without the issues of having to worry about a massive shooting occurring, and the certain ways we can help to prevent them in general. All in all, shootings are going to happen because there are criminals in the world that want to have revenge on at least someone, or the fact their mind is not mentally stable. There could be many reasons why someone would choose to go to an area and use gun violence to take the lives of others. Though, increasing gun laws or even legalizing gun control is not a good idea. Because of the fact that criminals will and still do, use any capacity that they can to get a gun if they want it. Rather if it’s through black marketing and buying them illegally, stealing, or even using the use of their own firearm they have in their house. The more laws are prohibited, the more people are going to want to do them. Much like the use of drugs, which is more popular now, and has the highest rate of deaths than it ever has been. When in the main reality of this all, is that no one can control criminals, but they think they can control guns. The main issue in today’s society is crime control and not gun control.